Deadline – U.S.A. Movie Download

8 / 10

Proof that Bogart still had it….
Towards the end of his wonderful career, Humphrey Bogart continued making great films. Consider THE CAINE MUTINY, THE DESPERATE HOURS, African QUEEN, THE HARDER THEY FALL as well as this film–all first-rate films with an older yet still exciting Bogart at the helm. Sure, there were a few disappointments here and there (SIROCCO and BATTLE CIRCUS come to mind), but the Bogart of the 1950s was every bit as exciting to watch as he’d ever been. In fact because Bogey often played a less glamorous and less macho characters in these films, he was quite believable and showed he was a darn fine actor.

Here we see Bogart as the head of a newspaper that is about to be sold by the family that owns it. It seems the sleazy and more sensationalistic rival paper wants to buy it just to shut it down. The commentary on the sensationalistic “if it bleeds, it leads” style of reporting is just as timely then as it is now. But Bogey doesn’t want to give up without a fight and refuses to just finish up his tenure with a whimper–choosing instead to pull out all the stops to “get the goods” on a local mobster who, up until that point, has been untouchable.

The film abounds with great performances, such as Ethel Barrymore’s, Martin Gabel and Warren Stevens’–and of course Humphrey Bogart’s. Additionally, the cast was blessed by having an excellent script that had a lot of depth as well as something to say. Sure, there were a few times it seemed a tad over-idealistic, but for the most part it was solid and exciting. In fact, I have no criticism of the film, as it was dandy entertainment and I sure wish they made them like this today. Give it a look–you won’t be sorry.Read More